Joanna is the younger daughter of my eldest brother.
Last year I made a Present Cake, and this year,she requested a Heart of Hearts Cake.
My 2nd sister in law has a cake decoration book, bought just for ogling.
And my brother's daughters plus mine will definately look through this book whenever they can.
Trying to choose their next birthday cake, fantasizing how pretty each cake will be.
And Joanna saw this cake, being an absolute pink girl, she absolutely fell in love with this.
With the looks fixed, cake type fixed, no headaches but also no room for creativity!!!
I made a Japanese Cotton Cheesecake, but with whipping cream instead of milk.
And to achieve the look, I had to find a way. I don't want white chocolate as I don't find it suitable for a soft cheesecake. So I made Swiss Meringue Buttercream for it in the end. And with some balance of cream, I made the hearts out of buttercream too, instead of piped white chocolates. No wastage. All used up.
So, on the day itself..
Sorry for the layout of the picture. Blogger won't let it stand upright.
And the kids were excited when it's time to cut up the cake, all peeping in
Here's how it looked like inside. I did some marbling with the Japanese Cotton Cheesecake. My elder brother commented, it was very very good. He said, "I rarely take seconds, and now I am". Frankly I do find Japanese cotton cheesecake taste better and is more stable when made with whipping cream.
My favourite part of the cake is the white squiggles used as trimming for the base. I just added that after I had excess of uncoloured cream, and I have to say, it's was the prettiest part. The pipings of the hearts were hedious, ugly, squirmish and uneven. But I passed the kid's test. She smiled from ear to ear when she saw it.
I wonder what will next year's challenge be.
Now that the kids are growing up, they will start to ask.
Not that they'll take anything I make for them.
Hahaha!!
You're so patient, you must have piped a hundred hearts on that cake. It looks beautiful. Was it hard to pipe the hearts on the side though? How long did it take you?
ReplyDeletex3baking,
ReplyDeleteBecause I was simply piping, not really paying much attention, it took me just less than 10 minutes to get the piping all done.
Because it was buttercream, spreading the base layer was a lot easier compared to dairy cream.
The spreading took me another 15 minutes, inclusive of crumb coating.
Look so lovely! bookmarked for my daughter next year Birthday!
ReplyDeletebeautifully made!! yes ,you have the skill, patient plus hard working to create this cake in detail!! salut to you☺! eventhough I have all the tools,pans and books which I bought from taking Wilton's deco class years ago but I hardly use it once a year after finish the lesson *malu only*
ReplyDeleteThis cake is really beautiful, I had fallen in love with it...
ReplyDeleteSonia,
ReplyDeleteAnother year to wait......... so long.
My Asian Kitchen,
Sometimes I buy a lot of stuff, but never use too. My hubby likes to jest about me buying for the sake of buying. A vice that I really have to admit. Just get some inspiration and get moving. Once you start movin, things are a lot easier.
Yes yes yes, kids are very demanding nowadays unlike what we used to be, bodoh bodoh, ha ha. Anyway, really admire your cooking and baking.
ReplyDeleteWendy, the cake is very beautiful!
ReplyDeletebeautiful cake wendy how i wish i was the birthday ahaha
ReplyDeleteSuch a sweet & lovely cake. ;) Will melt anyone's heart with this lovely heart. Great idea to use light cheesecake instead of sponge... Will try it next time.
ReplyDeleteWendy, your efforts and the entire afternoon spent is well worth it! The cake looks absolutely breathtaking!
ReplyDeleteWell, take it as it is lar ... As long as the kids love what you make for them, it's good enough lar ...
But hor, as a lady myself, I wouldn't request for hearts-filled and pinkish cake ... Too feminine for me lar ... LOL! Anyway, Joanna loved it! That was all that mattered! After all, she was the project requester. HAHA!
Lovely Japanese Cheesecake! Happy birthday sweetie!
ReplyDeleteLovely heart shaped cake! I am sure your niece was very happy when she saw this cake.
ReplyDeleteThis is so lovely! I would love to have one for my birthday too! :)
ReplyDeleteSWEET! Heart-shaped things are always actractive :)
ReplyDeleteGreat job with all the squiggly hearts! Very pretty colours! Your niece is so sweet!
ReplyDeleteWow ... this cake is so pretty. Salute you - I definitely don't have that kind of patience!! How long did you take to do up the cake?
ReplyDeleteWow, great job Wendy! I'll definitely give you a 2 thumbs UP......and I'm sure Joanna did too :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, you are so right about today's kids.....they knew exactly what to ask for and what to order ......hehe, I am having my next birthday challenge in November......now I have started to crack my head already , LOL
nice cake..u can open cake shop now
ReplyDeleteHaha...it must be so fun for the kids to look through the book and choose cakes!! It's sorta like how when I was young, my parents would take me to the bakery for my birthday and they'd give me a photo album of cakes to look through and choose...haha =) This cake design is really unique- and I love it!! It looks like a lot of fun to make too! And the cheesecake looks really yummy too =)
ReplyDeleteWow, you are so talented. Yours is even nicer than the original picture. I want to try this one day, may be for my next valentine...hehe.
ReplyDeleteBelly Good,
ReplyDeleteHahaha, I used to ask for certain cakes from my mom too, but not homemade, she'll order them. I only ask for the exterior, inside, just regular sponge. Back in those days, mana ada cheesecake la, what cake what cake la. The only bithday cake I knew is sponge cake. Haha.
Jess Bakericious,
thanks
Jess Kitchen,
Oh, you can make one yourself , :p
ekekeke. Any day can be your birthday, if you say so.
Bee,
Haha. I sure did melt the heart of all the girls there at the party.
Light cheesecakes are a nice change to boring sponge.
Pei-Lin,
ReplyDeleteJoanna is the kind of girl who loves all things pink, all things heart shaped. Even my girl went gaga over it.
It's ok to not like these sort of feminine stuff, different ppl, diff preference.
I'd like to have one like this if Mike bakes it for me, but it'll be in my dreams.
Kitchen Corner,
Thanks
Anncoo,
She was ecstatic!!!
Little Inbox,
Show the pic to ur hubby :)
DG,
There's is always the little girl in each of us, even when we are all grown up :)
Busygran,
ReplyDeleteI actually had a hard time getting the dyeing done.
I mixed in so much of food colouring, that I felt scared doing it.
Thanks.
Yummy Koh,
Not too long. I baked the cake few days before, kept it chilled and covered, then on the day before the birthday, I made the cream and frosted. The prep of cream and frosting took me less than 2 hours, inclusive of mixing colours and cleaning up.
Mumto4Angels,
Thanks. I may not have as many kids as u do, but my niece's cakes are also mine to do. More chances to polish my skills.
Haha, what will ur project be then?
Can't wait to see.
Jes's Deli Corner,
Hahah, no lor, not yet.
Still prefer teaching.
Von,
It's not difficult. You can try making something like this.
Use melted white choc in case you like the heart shapes to have a crunch to it.
The kids are already flipping the book again, choosing their next cake.
HomeKreation,
Adakah???? Nicer than the ori?
Hohoho. That's is a really nice compliment for my squiggly hearts.
Make ur own valentine cake?
Yeah, it seems funny when we can bake our own, and yet buy cakes outside.
That is a beautiful cake Wendy. You do need a lot of patience to do all the hearth shape piping. Salute to you :)
ReplyDeleteWendy, you are really talented! What a beautiful cake, really admire your baking skills :)
ReplyDeleteGert,
ReplyDeleteHahaha. I didn't have the patience, which was why the heart shaped pipings were all squiggly.
Min,
Thanks
wow, what a beautiful and lovely cake!
ReplyDeleteWa, 10mins is fast! I would never be able to make such a cake! Buy la, JH would say...or maybe order from you...?
ReplyDeleteSo sweet...the cake looks very nice. Great job!
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw this cake, it looks familar and bingo. It is always nice to put a smile on a kid. I am sure you are pleased with your effort.
ReplyDeleteThis is so pretty! I'm sure my girls will like it!
ReplyDeleteThis buttercream sure look very stable. But I'm not too comfy using egg whites as I don't have a thermometer and I worry I may undercook the eggs.
BTW, I've always baked a cheesecake with marble effect but again, no time to blog about it yet.
One more thing, must let your niece read this. She is so lucky to have a auntie like you to bake a customised cake for her yearly.
ReplyDeletePete,
ReplyDeletethanks
Meldy,
The 10 mins is just for squirting the heart shapes on. When I say squirt, I just simply squirted. Haha!! True, same goes to my hubby. Buy la!!!
Zoe,
thanks
Edith,
Oh, u have the same book??
Kids never want to let go of that book once it gets in their hands
Blessed Homemaker,
Before I had my thermometer, I just cook the egg whites until it is hot. Then this time, I cooked until it was hot, and I tested with my thermometer, it was 75C, way past the min level. So, as long as u cook until it's hot, it shhould be fine.
My nieces will not read, even if I show them.
They will only look at the pics, that's it.
I show them everytime.
Nice free-flow design, Wendy! Kids nowadays sure know what they want, and you did a great job to fulfil your niece's heart's desire, bravo to an awesome aunt!
ReplyDeleteaww beautiful! I want that for my birthday too!!
ReplyDeleteHKChoo,
ReplyDeleteHaha, what do do?
I'm their only kucheh. The only one that can bake.
Pigpigscorner,
Hint to wildboar. Show the pic to him.
Still playing catch up with your posts... Missed this one a few days ago! What an amazing accomplishment! I bet they can come up with any requests and with your resourcefulness, you can deliver! :)
ReplyDeleteShirley,
ReplyDeleteHaha, I can understand that.
Cracks my head each time, but challenges are fun :)
such a pretty pretty cake!!
ReplyDeletePetite nyonya,
ReplyDeletethanks
What a pretty cake. I love how you have decorated with the hearts.
ReplyDeleteCharmaine,
ReplyDeleteThanks